Toddlers and 2-Year Old Programming
"I'm just a kid, I have a lot of stuff to do yet."
~ Clint Eastwood
Our commitment to quality care continues in our Toddler and 2-year old rooms. Children at this age are eager learners who energetically interact with materials and people. We at the center realize that an environment and curriculum that encourages each child's growing need of independence is a basis for developing and mastering life skills and a positive self esteem. By playing in both large and small groups, these children will learn valuable social skills needed to effectively interact with others. While engaging in fun activities toddlers and 2-year olds will discover their likes and talents and will be exposed to fundamentals such as: colors, shapes, self-help skills, as well as social and language development.
Children under the age of 2 years old will have a notebook system for direct communication with their teacher(s). In this notebook the teacher will log the daily activities, feedings and the rest times of your child. Parents will be asked to list pertinent information that will ensure the individualized schedule of each child is up-to-date, to inculde but not limited to: the last time your child ate, slept and was changed, as well as mood and sleeping patterns of the night before. Parents of 2-year olds will find daily information posted in the Parent Area of the room.
Arts for Kids has an individualized program for the needs of children ages of
6-weeks to 2-years old.
All children will have individual contact and attention through feeding, diapering and learning experience.
Each child will follow their individual routine of feeding and sleeping set by their home environment.
The children will be provided with equipment to fit their educational development and creative expression appopriate to their age level.
Daily communication with parents:
~ A notebook for each child under two years of age will be sent home with parents summarizing child's activities.
Parents will bring back notebook with information for teachers.
Staff will ensure that throughout the day infants will be moved into different activities.
Potty Training Policy
If parents and the center are in agreement that a child is developmentally ready, Arts for Kids will begin to encourage potty training at age 2.
At 2-1/2 years old age, regular potty training is part of our daily program and routine. Children will be encouraged to wear pull-ups or underwear (depending on progress) and have plenty of extra pull-ups or underwear on hand. They will be taken to the bathroom every 2 hours (possibly more often at the beginning). If a child is wearing underwear, they will be put in a pull-up or diaper for naps, unless completely trained. We will use lots of praise for a "job well done" and lots of understanding when "accidents happen" if a child has a rough day.
Sometimes potty training can happen overnight and sometimes it can be a long process - we just need to have a lot of patience.
June 2025 News!
Toddler I
Hello June! Though May was lots of fun with Week of the Young Child and Mother’s Day, we say goodbye to themes of Springtime and say hello to a sun-shiny summer filled with themes of: Under the Sea, Pirates, Watermelons, and of course, The Beach! Don’t worry dads, we didn’t forget about you! Expect a Fathers Day surprise this month as well! With Ms. Rin starting as the new Lead Teacher, things have been great!
Though Mariana will sadly be leaving us soon, we wish her the best of luck on her future adventures and hope she continues to show others her knack for empathy and kindness wherever she goes! Reign has been doing wonderful in class, finally growing out of her shell. Since being the newbie, she has been clapping, laughing, and playing with all her new friends! Speaking of new friends, Jason joined us this past month and we are doing a great job working on our gentle touches! He has also made lots of new and old friends in our Toddler 1 room and we love seeing him watch and play! Halo has been a Joy this month, from free-standing to finally making those first steps! We couldn’t be happier! Josie is also following close behind, already making great strides on free standing to catch up with her bestie Halo! Atticus is as wild as always, and we love him for it! We are practicing our listening ears and have made big strides in understanding others, as well as picking up a few words here and there! But he’s not alone! Athena has also been growing her vocabulary and her table manners have gotten better and better this past month!
Since we are heading into hotter weather we ask that all extra clothes be checked for short sleeves and shorts, as well as all parents to check that their child has a water bottle to keep in their cubby and bring home on the weekends. To make this summer one to remember we are also asking parents to please bring in family pictures for our family wall! The kids love seeing their family when they are away and it really does make all the difference in helping them soothe or celebrate when they are thinking of you! Other than that, we are so excited to delve into this June together!
Ms. Rin & Ms. Kayla
Toddler II
Summer is here, and we’re ready for a month of sunshine, splashes, and smiles! June brings playful learning through bright colors, ocean fun, and celebrating the special people in our lives—including our amazing dads and father figures. Get ready for water play, colorful crafts, and a lot of toddler giggles!
During Summer week, we’ll welcome the season with sunny songs, water fun, and crafts that celebrate all things summer—like sun, ice cream, and playtime outside. During beach week, toddlers will explore the beach with hands-on sensory play, sea creature stories, and bubbly fun. During our week of bugs and butterflies, we’ll flutter, crawl, and buzz through the week learning about butterflies, ladybugs, and other tiny friends we find in summer gardens. Father’s Day week is a special week to celebrate dads, grandpas, uncles, and caregivers. We’ll read books about families, make thoughtful gifts, and enjoy activities that highlight the love between toddlers and their father figures. The last week is all about the colors we see in nature, clothing, and sunshine! We’ll explore a different color each day and create a bright rainbow of memories. We look forward to Donuts with Dads on the 13th, and occasional water play days too as the weather gets warmer.
Ms. Kenzie and Ms. Tina
Toddler III
Hello families! Welcome to the vibrant month of June! I’m excited to share with you the fun and educational adventures planned for our toddlers this month. Get ready for a journey through space, heartfelt Father’s Day celebrations, sunny summer activities, and cozy camping experiences. During space week, our little astronauts will explore the wonders of the universe. We’ll learn about the sun, moon, stars, and planets through songs, crafts, and interactive activities. To celebrate the amazing dads and father figures, we’ll be creating special handmade gifts. As summer begins, we’ll enjoy outdoor play, water activities, and lessons about sunshine safety. For camping week, we’ll set up a pretend campsite right in our classroom! Activities include storytelling around a (pretend) campfire, making s’mores crafts, and learning about nature. Remember to have extra clothes in your child’s cubby and make sure everything is labeled. Let’s make June joyful and memorable for our little ones!
Ms. Erica
2's I
Welcome summer! I hope you all had a wonderful May! With the weather getting nicer we will be applying sunscreen on the kiddos. Please make sure that your child has sunscreen, swim suit, towel, and swim diapers when here so we can have them for swim days. Parents, please make sure your child has extra clothes in their cubby as well.
Our themes last month were: Mother’s Day, Pond Life, Zoo, and Pets. The kiddos loved doing Muffins with Mom for Mother’s Day, and they also enjoyed making gifts for their moms. The kiddos always love talking about Zoo animals and doing Zoo yoga!
Our themes this month are: Dairy, Father’s Day, Summer, Picnic, and 4th of July/Camping.
We continue to work on drinking out of a regular cup, using our spoons, potty training,
sharing toys, gentle touches, using our words instead of whining, learning our names, and lots more!
Parents, please make sure to check your child’s cubby for artwork or important paperwork.
Should you have any questions or concerns please feel free to talk to me personally or message me
through the parent app.
I hope everyone has a wonderful month!
Thank you,
Ms. Ashley
2's-II
Hello families and welcome summer!!
We are so happy about the warmer weather; hopefully it doesn’t rain too much this month so we can get some splash days in. On splash days we usually ask for a swim diaper (if kids are not in underwear), swim suit, towel, and shoes that can get wet. This month will be filled with lots of fun in the warm weather and with the activities we do inside. The activities we did last month in the first week were all about our mommies. We got to paint our moms a key to our heart using the spinner machine. We loved using our fine motor skills to push down on the button. We also got to say all the wonderful things we love about our mom. The next week our theme was pond animals. We used our large motor skills to hop like frogs and our exploration skills to find the pond animals around the room. Our favorite songs to sing were 5 Green Speckled Frogs and 5 Little Ducks. The following week we got to talk all about the zoo animals. The kids loved “rawrring” like the lions do. We loved singing “We’re going to the zoo;” it was our favorite song for zoo week. We used our creativity to watercolor elephants and paint with Pom poms for lions. The last week of May we talked all about our pets. We loved to play with the new stuffy dogs that I brought in. We talked about what makes a good pet and how pets are to be taken care of. If you ever have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask.
Ms. Laura & 2II
2's-III
Hello all and welcome to June in 2’s III!
A huge shout out to all who came to our Muffins with Mom event last month - We loved seeing you! I hope you enjoyed the special Mother’s Day card and fingerprint keychain we made with love.
We had a great time last month as we learned about such themes such as finishing up our Farm theme, Mother’s Day, Ponds, Zoo animals, and Our Pets.
Using these themes, we built our language skills as we answered the question of the day, learned sign language for common words for the weeks theme, and talked about what we see/are doing during special activities.
We did many thinking and imaginative activities this month such as matching/sorting games, cause and effect activities in the sand and water tables, moving like a variety of animals, pretending to care for animals, and following patterns.
We worked on our large muscle physical development by doing walking, running, dancing, and yoga activities. We also worked on our small muscle physical development by using sponges, Q-Tip's, marble rolling, playdough, and stickers to create a variety of theme related art.
We built on our social skills by working together to make pretend meals, play tag, pretend to row a boat together, and play catch together.
In keeping with an animal focus, we will be kicking off June and celebrating Wisconsin by learning about Dairy.
Just a few reminders - We will be doing splash days during the summer and your child will need a swimsuit, towel, swim diaper (if not potty trained yet), and sunscreen. Please make sure you sign a medical form for sunscreen.
If you have any questions about your child or the classroom please feel free to ask. If I am not available to speak to, feel free to message via the Lillio App.
Have a wonderful summer!!
Ms. Sara B. and 2’s III
